The thing about conservative fiscal policy is that it’s neither conservative nor fiscal. I know. Yes, I know.

The Republicans say otherwise. But it can’t be true when they most care about expenditures, not revenues. That’s like caring about fuel efficiency but not the price of gas.

As it is, the only fiscal conservative in Connecticut is Gov. Dannel Malloy. I mean it. He raised taxes when the Republicans opposed it. He cut spending when the Democrats opposed it. A government can’t find its way to fiscal health with cuts or taxes alone. They go together. Eliminating waste is worthwhile, but eventually, good leaders must make choices. A wise man once said: politicians get into trouble when they make choices. No politician in the country is more unpopular than Malloy.

Our fiscal woes endure, of course, and a new governor must make choices, too. But that’s not something you’re hearing before this weekend’s conventions. On the one hand, Ned Lamont, a Democrat, says he’s with the public-sector unions through and through. On the other, Dave Walker, a Republican, wants them to surrender even more. But what about higher taxes? According to Hearst Connecticut Media’s Capitol reporter Ken Dixon: “The Republican mantra this year is to cut spending across the board, for starters, then somehow reduce the tax burden.”

An anti-tax, pro-cuts non-conservative un-fiscal position, is an odd one for Walker to take. As the comptroller of the United States, he led the Government Accountability Office for a decade. During that time, he saw the George W. Bush administration spend down the budget surplus of the Clinton years, cut taxes for the rich, borrow to finance the War on Terror, and expand Medicare. In other words, fiscal conservatism was nowhere to be found.

So in 2007, he sounded the alarm with a national tour raising awareness of the country’s mounting fiscal crisis. He said the United States was up to its eyeballs in debt and deficits, and that something must be done. “We suffer from a fiscal cancer,” Comptroller Walker said at the time. “It is growing within us. If we do not treat it, it could have catastrophic consequences for our country.”

That caught the attention of producers at “60 Minutes.” When correspondent Steve Kroft asked what was needed to meet the health care promises the government made to baby boomers aging into retirement, Walker said: “We’d have to have $8 trillion today.” But how? Kroft asked.

“It’s going to come from additional taxes or restructuring these programs or from cutting other spending.”

Later, he said: “I don’t know anybody who has done their homework, researched history and who’s good at math who will tell you we can grow our way out of our problem.”

Walker did not cherry pick one part of accounting that Republicans like — spending cuts — while ignoring parts they don’t — revenues. And in not cherry picking, Walker set himself apart from pretty much the entire Republican establishment, national and local. “The American people are starved for two things,” Walker said. “The truth and leadership.” George H.W. Bush gave America both during his first and only term. Choices? Nothing but trouble.

Now that Walker is running for governor of Connecticut, has he gotten wise about making hard choices. It’s truly hard to tell. On the one hand, he made clear to Republican delegates last weekend that he doesn’t like paying higher property taxes. If his house were in Fairfield instead of Bridgeport, he’d have more and pay less, he said.

On the other hand, he doesn’t seem like a craven amoral opportunist. When it comes to making choices, he strikes me as someone like Gov. Malloy, believe it or not. During that “60 Minutes” feature, he told Steve Kroft: “I don’t know politicians who like to raise taxes. I don’t know politicians who like to cut spending. But I think what we have to recognize is this is not just about numbers.

“We are mortgaging the future of our children and grandchildren at record rates and that is not only an issue of fiscal responsibility. It’s an issue of immorality.”

That’s not something a craven amoral opportunist says. If anyone running for governor is a true fiscal conservative, it’s probably Dave Walker. But given the realities of his own party, we may not find out until after the election.

John Stoehr is a fellow at the Yale Journalism Initiative and a New Haven resident.